WASHINGTON — Viewers tuning into the Paris Olympics Friday when Morocco faces the U.S. men's soccer team may be wondering why the country's abbreviation is listed as "MAR" and not "MOR."
The reason is actually pretty simple, and it's a question that popped up previously during Morocco's history-making run in the 2022 World Cup and during the women's World Cup in 2023.
While most country acronyms, officially known as IOC country codes for the Olympics, come from the first three letters of a country's name in English, there are exceptions. Morocco is one of those exceptions.
Why is Morocco 'MAR'?
While the country's English name is Morocco, it's known as Maroc in French.
According to a 2018 report from Slate, even though the official languages of the country are Arabic and Tamazight, French continues to have a powerful position there as a holdover from the colonial era.
Morocco isn't the only team in the Olympics that differs from that English standard.
Other abbreviations that stand out in Paris include Spain going by "ESP," Saudi Arabia abbreviated to "KSA" (for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and South Africa referred to as "RSA."
The Refugee Olympic Team, all compromised of 37 individual athletes from 11 countries, have the code "EOR" for these Games because the French name is Équipe olympique des réfugiés. The team was created for the Rio Olympics in 2016 as a symbol of hope and to call attention to the plight of refugees worldwide.
What country is AIN?
AIN is the team made up of individual athletes from Russia and Belarus, who were invited to compete individually as neutrals for the 2024 Summer Games.
The IOC country code AIN stands for the French "Athlètes Individuels Neutres," or "Individual Neutral Athletes."
There are 32 AINs competing in Paris. To compare, Russia sent 330 athletes and Belarus sent 104 athletes to Tokyo in 2021. Instead there will be 15 athletes with a Russian passport - 7 of which are competing in tennis - and 17 athletes with a Belarusian passport.
What country is TJK?
Another country that falls on this list is Tajikistan, which in the Olympics competes as TJK.
You can see a full list of each country's code on the Olympics website.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
